Chapter 73: Looming Danger

Mid Evening - Late Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

- Viviana Zidek ~

"Mmmm.." Slowly opening my eyes, I looked up at a pure white ceiling as if it was normal.

"How are you feeling?"

As the mature woman's voice entered my ears, my mind finally realized how out of place everything was and jolted me awake. "Ah!" Hastily sitting up, I looked straight at the unfamiliar elven woman. -An elven maid?- "W..where am I?"

"This is the guest bedroom of the Royal Palace."

I felt my heart skip a beat as memories of the carriage ride with Lucy resurfaced in my mind. "S..so that wasn't a dream." My voice was a little shaky.

"Would you like me to get you anything to help you relax? Any tea or snacks?"

Looking over at her, I noticed a tray of tea and white bread, unlike anything I had ever seen. "N..no I wouldn’t dare ask-"

"It's alright, you're Lucy's first real friend. How could I not show some basic hospitality?" The maid quickly turned to the bedside table and poured a glass of tea. "So where are you from?"

"Um.. the inner edge of the lower eastern district."

"Oh, so you don't live in the slums? That's good to hear." She casually walked over and handed me a cup of tea as we talked.

"T..thank you…" Reluctantly taking it from her, I took a sip and felt warmth fill my body. -Wow…- "It's.. really good…"

"Haha, I'm glad you like it. I will prepare some for you to take home."

But even though it was a wonderful thing to be gifted tea by the royal family, I couldn't help but feel sad. -So they are sending me home...-

It only took a moment for the maid to notice my mood. "What's wrong? Is there an issue with me sending some home with you?"

"Oh, no! It's not that!" I panicked slightly as I jumped to conclusions, but quickly calmed down. "I was just excited to finally make a friend, is all.."

"Hm?" The maid only looked confused. "Why do you look sad then?"

"Well, because I passed out and ruined the date… Now I have to go back home..."

"Oh? I thought you were staying the night?"

"Huh?" The sadness on my face vanished in an instant. "Are you not sending me home?"

"Haha, no, of course not. What made you think that?"

"Uh.. well... Nevermind… I'm sorry…" I immediately threw out an apology when I realized how grand my assumption was.

"It's alright, darling." The beautiful maid then came over and rubbed my back to comfort me, and it worked like a charm.

It only took a moment for me to calm down once again. "So, where is Lu- I mean, the Princess?"

"Haha, she should be having dinner right now."

"Oh. So, I missed it?"

"I'm sure they won't mind if you show up a little late."

"A..are you sure?" To be honest, I was incredibly nervous about meeting the Royal Family and genuinely thought it might have been better that I missed it.

But the maid immediately destroyed that possibility. "Of course I am. As long as you are feeling well enough to go, I think you should join them."

I sat there, frozen in place for a moment, before eventually managing to pep myself up enough to swing my legs off the bed. -I can do this. I can do this. It's only the king and queen... I got this. Come on me! I got this!-

The maid showed me an oddly motherly smile as I patted my cheeks and forcefully gave myself some confidence. "Since you seem ready, I will lead the way-"

"W..w..wait!"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Shouldn't I change?" -I look like a mess!- I was still in my school uniform, but it was all wrinkled and disheveled from laying under the bedsheets.

"Hmm, you will be fine. Let’s go, shall we?"

With a slightly uncomfortable look, I reluctantly followed her down the hall and tried to tidy myself as best as I could, but we arrived at the dining room much faster than I expected.

- Vasilias ~

Upon arriving at the dining room, we walked inside at took a seat.

It wasn’t too long after that, that Helen arrived as well. "Good evening, you two."

"Hello, Mother! How was your day?" Although still feeling guilty, Lucy cheered right up when she saw Helen.

"It wasn’t bad. Could have been much worse, but thankfully I only had to do some extra paperwork to resolve the issue. Anyways, how was your day, sweetie?"

"Ah, it was.. pretty good as well."

Helen's mood quickly darkened as she assumed the worst. "Oh, what happened? You weren't picked on, were you?"

"No, nothing like that. I just made a friend, her name is Viviana, and after spending the day talking, I asked if she wanted to spend the night, and her parents agreed.. but.."

"But, what?"

Seeing Lucy's guilt, I spoke up for her. "Viviana is a commoner girl, and Lucy never even mentioned that she was a noble, let alone the Princess, so..."

Helen’s look turned to one of disappointment as her face fell into her hands.

"Sorry mother…"

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Unlike what Lucy was thinking though, Helen wasn't disappointed in her at all. "Don’t say sorry, sweetie. That's my fault. I should have taught you about that before you went to school…" There was a short pause as she fell into thought. "So where is she?"

*Knock* *Knock*

Before I could answer, the door opened and revealed Viviana nervously standing there.

-She woke up quickly…-

"I have brought Viviana Zidek to attend dinner." Martha gave a deep bow before leaving and closing the door behind her.

"S..sorry if I'm interrupting!" Viviana's nervousness was obvious as she threw herself into a grovel.

The first to say anything was Helen, as she got up from her seat and walked over to the shaking girl. "You know, not showing your face when meeting the queen is poor etiquette."

Vivana hastily looked up to see Helen wearing a warm smile.

"You are my daughter's friend. Please speak comfortably."

I felt like I could hear the cogs turning in her mind as Viviana tried to think of what to say, but her mind eventually ran out of ideas and she simply compiled. "O..okay…"

Helen's smile grew after confirming that Viviana wasn’t trying to take advantage of Lucy. "Much better." With a light tap on Viviana's head, Helen turned and sat back down at the table. "So tell me about yourself, Viviana."

"Well... I am a commoner. My family lives on the inner edge of the lower eastern district, and we have lived there for several years now."

"Oh? Where did your family come from?"

"Sinder. We were lucky enough to leave before the chaos.."

"Ah right, nearly forgot about Sinder's situation. So why did you end up moving?"

"My parents are merchants, so we moved here for better business."

Their idle chatter continued for a decent while before the subject shifted once again. "So I heard there was an incident at the academy this morning."

Lucy tensed up.

"I heard a knight was killed and a student's leg was.. according to the medical report, 'unrepairable'." She looked over at me like she wanted a response.

Not backing down at all, I looked her right in the eyes. "I'm sure you would’ve done worse if you saw the way they looked at Lucy."

Her serious look immediately disappeared. "Haha, true! Thanks to you killing that knight, several young commoner girls finally came forward and exposed some of his.. vile crimes.." Her face shifted to one of disgust. "On top of that, we might have gotten a lead on a money laundering noble. That one might be a false lead though-"

*Click* Interrupting her voice, the door to the dining room swung open and Oliver came charging through. "Sorry for being late, but, Vasilias, I need to make another request.."

-What is it now?- "I'm all ears."

Quickly glancing around the room, he noticed Viviana staring at him. "Miss Viviana, sorry for not being able to greet you yet, but could you please step out for a moment?"

Not questioning anything, Viviana hopped out of her chair and quickly made her way to the door.

"Do I need to stay?" Lucy gave a guilty look after seeing Viviana leave the room.

"No you can join her, I just need to talk with Vasilias privately for a moment."

Giving a nod, both the young girls disappeared out of the door.

"Okay now that we are alone.." He slid a silencing artifact onto the table before quickly activating it. "I need to request your help."

"Okay? What do you want me to do."

"I want you to save Kaelallan.."

-Talk about a grand request..- "Sounds heavy."

"If you wish to decline, I completely understand."

"Well, tell me the details first."

"Right. So, an hour or so ago, I got news from a messenger in the western part of the main continent. A week ago, a new alliance was created. They're calling it the Great Alliance, and it's made up of nearly 60 nations, large and small. The only nations that were left untouched were those allied with the Holy Kingdom, the Bay Alliance, and various other smaller alliances."

"So what makes you think they will declare war?"

"I got a list of nations from that nation rank assassin from the tower, and nearly every nation he listed is in the alliance. The alliance is also centered around Deacia, a country far too small to lead such a massive alliance."

"So you're saying that it's the towers doing?"

"Yes." His eyes were filled with determination.

"The Bay alliance is fairly strong, so how much will I actually have to do if they declare war?"

"I just want you to assist Lawton in protecting the capital. I will not ask you to assist beyond that, even if the Bay Alliance falls back."

"Hmm.." -No matter what he wishes to give me as payment, this request is a bit much...- "Father should be back tomorrow or the next day. Do you mind waiting to let me ask him?" -He might get help from Bahamut if he can convince the elders..-

"Of course."

"Alright then. So, what were you thinking of giving for payment?"

"You can have anything you want from the vault. Even if it's dozens of items, including the family heirloom."

Silence fell across the table immediately.

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